Vol 1 Chapter 10 – Cupid in Miniature? And a Sugar Baby Melon【Volume 1: The Road to Romance】

“Go on, say hello.”

“…Nice to meet you. I’m Miki.”

Shino’s little sister stepped shyly into view — and the family resemblance was immediately obvious.

Set aside the hair color, since Shino’s was dyed, and the differences came down mostly to the eyes. Where Shino had wide, distinctly defined double eyelids, Miki’s were just as pretty but softer — gently downturned at the corners.

Change the eyes, and you’d have a nearly perfect picture of what Shino must have looked like as a small child.

“Nice to meet you, Miki-chan.”

“…Y-yes…”

Miki squeezed her eyes shut and looked at the ground. Less frightened than embarrassed, from the looks of it.

“Fujiwara, I’m really sorry…”

“You don’t have to apologize.”

Unexpected as it was, Sandai was — if he was being honest with himself — actually a little relieved. Being alone with Shino had a way of making his thoughts drift to inconvenient places. A third person in the room was an accidental gift.

“…I told her she’d just be a bother and should stay home with Mom and Dad.”

“It’s fine, really. … She probably just wanted to be near her big sister, right?”

He crouched down to meet Miki’s eye level and smiled. Miki’s face broke into a small grin, and she gave a tiny nod.

“Mm. I love Onee-chan.”

Guileless and sincere — exactly what you’d expect from a girl her age.

Shino, however, was wearing an expression that was difficult to categorize.

“Yuizaki? Everything alright?”

“…Fair warning — once she gets comfortable, she turns into a complete menace. She’s also very good at playing innocent.”

At that, Miki’s eyes slid sideways.

Then she said:

“…Is Onee-chan still mad about yesterday?”

“Hm? Of course I am.”

“Don’t be so mad… I just thought maybe a sugar baby melon could barely balance on your bra, so I wanted to see if it would fit—”

“That doesn’t mean you put one on there and swing it around! You broke the strap and the clasp!”

“It’s not my fault, Onee-chan’s chest is bigger than expected…”

“It is not my fault.”

“You’ve got a figure…”

“W-where did you even learn that expression?”

“TV. They said if everything sticks out where it’s supposed to and goes in where it’s supposed to, that’s what you call it.”

Sandai had stopped moving entirely.

They were having a genuinely incredible conversation about Shino’s undergarments, and he was just standing there in the middle of it.

Miki’s true personality, it emerged, was exactly what Shino had warned him about — completely unfiltered and cheerfully unashamed. The soft, shy girl from two minutes ago had apparently been a limited-time performance.

This was not a conversation Sandai had any business being part of.

He raised both hands and pressed them firmly over his ears.

“By the way, Onee-chan. …You said you were going to a friend’s house. But this isn’t a girl’s house.”

“I never said it was a girl’s friend.”

“Should I not tell Mom and Dad?”

“I-I’m planning to say something eventually, it’s just… things aren’t really like that yet, so… if you could maybe…”

“Like that… not yet… hmm. I’m not sure I understand, but if you’d like me to keep quiet, I will. Only — you have to kiss him in front of me first.”

“— What?!”

“I saw people kissing in a drama, and I started wondering what a real kiss actually feels like, so I want to watch. Kiss him, and I won’t say anything.”

“…”

☆

A few minutes into the walk, Miki had warmed up to Sandai entirely.

She was smiling now, bright and easy, happily chattering along.

Shino, meanwhile, had gone red to the tips of her ears and was fiddling with her bangs in silence.

(She’s probably still thinking about the bra situation…)

That was Sandai’s working theory. He made a quiet resolution to steer well clear of anything that might remind her of it.

What was actually filling Shino’s head, as it happened, was the kiss.

Sandai did not figure this out.